The Battle
by Kitty-Kat-Kates
Summary: What have they gotten themselves into this time? Fratie,OW/AJ, AS/GW. R&R! M for mild swearing
1. The Battle Starts

"FRED WEASLEY, DON'T YOU DARE!" I screeched, giggling as I ran down the halls of my second favourite place in the world.

Hogwarts was alive with students walking to and from classes, but thankfully Fred and I weren't here for class as we were both 20 years old. We were both here as a favor to Tonks and Remus because tonight was a full moon and they couldn't perform Auror duties at the school.

Fred, being the idiot that he is, decided to skip out on working at the shop for the day and spend some time with his girlfriend (that's me) at his old school. Basically, we were asked to walk around the halls, making sure that there were no death eater attacks tonight, even though the school is full of them at this very moment.

As I tear down the halls, hearing my muggle Converse shoes squeak along the stone floors, all I can do is let out a pitiful squeak as I trip over a carpet and fall flat on my back. Hearing Fred's roaring laughter directly behind me, I look up to see short ginger hair, a shower of freckles, and bright blue eyes.

"Kates, what are you doing on the ground?" He chuckled as he decided to lie down beside me despite the glares of the Hogwarts students that are walking to class.

"I didn't fall on purpose, you idiot! The carpet tripped me" I try to explain.

"The carpet, you say? It looks completely safe to me. Look!" He exclaims as he jumps to his feet and does a little jig while humming to himself.

Rolling my eyes and laughing, I get to my feet and proceed to walk down the hall, leaving my boyfriend dancing by himself. I walk past the great hall and out of the huge wooden doors.

Slowly making my way down the grassy hills, I hear students in the greenhouses that I pass, chatting and laughing at eachother. I smile and remember the days when Fred, George and I would make mayhem at every time possible. Especially in potions. The students in our class would be waiting for another 'Weasley-Bell outbreak' as they called it and Fred, George, and I were always up for the challenge.

Finally arriving at my destination, I found the quidditch pitch to be deserted. I sprint over to the broom cupboard and unlock it with my want, to grab a school broom and hurl myself up into the air. As I soar above the quidditch pitch, I close my eyes and feel my long blonde hair whipping in the wind. Breathing in the afternoon air, I slowly start to do laps around the perimeter until I am speeding as fast as the old school broom will let me.

"Want to play with my ball?" A smug voice asks with a smile in his voice.

"Only if you'll play with me" I respond, turning to see Fred in the air, only a foot away from me. He throws a Quaffle at me and I catch it with ease.

"I would all day, darling" He says with a wink and a crooked smile. Before I can respond, he takes off to the opposite side of the pitch, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.

"ALRIGHT BELL, LETS SEE IF YOU CAN THROW AS FAST AS YOU CAN EAT" Fred bellowed across the pitch which earned him a Quaffle directly to the stomach.

We played two-person quidditch for hours, until the sun set. After, we decided to go down to the kitchens, as we missed dinner. We passed children in the halls, walking in neat rows, looking oddly like chess pieces. Fred and I exchanged worried looks and he pulled a first year from the lines.

"Hey kid, aren't you all supposed to be in bed?" Fred inquired.

"Yes, sir. But Professor Snape has insisted on having an assembly in the Great Hall. No one knows why." The terrified boy squeaked.

"Kates, maybe we should go to the room of requirement, just in case Snape is going to call the Death Eaters tonight." Fred whispered to me as he pulled his eyebrows together.

"Yeah, okay. But we should grab Ginny and my brother Stephen before we go."

So we weave through the students, passing many tired, scratched, bruised faces, until we find the Gryffindor bunch. I immediately spot Ginny's bright hair and grab her hand as she passes us.

"Katie! Fred? What are you two doing here?" Ginny whispers to us, with a worried glance at the teachers lining the walls.

"Come on Gin, we've got to find Stephen. Any idea where the fifth years are?" Fred asks Ginny while we all scan the large group of Gryffindors.

"Kates?" I hear behind me. It was just a whisper, but I recognize the voice.

"Oh Merlin, Stephen!" I squeak as I turn to see my brother's bruised face. His blonde hair is curled and sticks up at strange angles like it always does. Mum used to buy muggle hair gel, because no charms would make it stay down. His grey eyes are a tad darker than mine and he stands not much shorter than me even though I am about 5'9. I force myself into his arms, whether he likes it or not, for a hug.

"All right, Fred, Ginny?" Stephen asks as he looks over my shoulder, us still hugging.

"Never better, shortie" Fred quips as I pull away from him.

"Hi Stephen" Ginny smiles sweetly.

"Mum and Dad are gonna kill you, Stephen. You know you weren't supposed to get hurt" I scold as we start to walk away from the Great Hall, towards the seventh floor corridor.

"Well, yeah. But I kinda took over Fred and George's roll of prankster. It gives people hope, you know?" Stephen grinned, turning to look at Fred.

I always knew that Stephen admired Fred. Our family would constantly stay at the Burrow during the summer for one week or so and Stephen could always be found in Fred and George's room, making his own fireworks or watching the boys explain their newest inventions. When Fred and George moved out, and I moved in with them in the flat above the shop, Stephen would come over at every time he could get away from Hogwarts, sometimes for one night and sometimes for an entire weekend. We couldn't tell my parents because they would be furious, but we made sure that Stephen wasn't found out by teachers. He was popular enough at school to have a bunch of Gryffindor friends claim that Stephen was there the whole weekend, just hiding in the common room, or practicing quidditch at the pitch. Being a Bell means that we have natural quidditch skills and almost every Bell to go to Hogwarts has made it onto the house quidditch team.

I am pulled from my thoughts as I hear the doors to the room of requirement creak open. I follow Fred through the doors with Stephen right behind me, with Ginny bringing up the rear.

As we walked into the large room lined with beds hanging from the ceiling, there were many whispers and people talking. Stephen walked over to some of his Gryffindor friends that were forced into hiding. Fred went off to his family, probably to try to find George. And Ginny walked over to talk to Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Not too many people noticed us walk in. I look for my best friends, Angelina and Alicia because I know they came here a few days ago. The Death Eaters wanted them for their army because they both come from wizarding families and are amazing witches.

"KATES!"

"OOF!" I was tackled to the ground by two girls my height. I opened my eyes to see two sets of eyes looking back at me, one pair of chocolate brown eyes, and another of bright green.

"Kates. We were so worried. We thought…." Alicia Spinnet trailed off, tears starting to pool in her vivid green eyes.

"We thought the Death Eaters had you." Angelina Johnson finished for her friend bravely.

"I would go down with a fight; you two would know that I was taken." I snickered to the girls as they stepped off of me and helped me up. I finally got a chance to look at the girls and I noticed that they both had ugly scars on their faces and all visible parts of their skin. Angelina, always the braver of us, was standing straight and tall, her dark skin shone with sweat. Her beautiful dark hair was plaited back in a neat braid. Turning to Alicia, I noticed that she was looking a lot worse than Angelina. She had fresh cuts all along the right side of her face and her usually straight, long hair was cut to her collarbone. The last time I saw her was at Bill and Fleur's wedding. That was before we all had to go into hiding.

We were all herded into the Burrow by a bunch of scary looking Death Eaters. Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ginny, Alicia, Angelina, Fleur, and I were all standing in the kitchen. The rest of the guests had gotten away, thanks to Kingsley's warning. The Death Eaters tortured us in front of eachother. They demanded information on the whereabouts of Harry Potter and they knew that we had the information. All of us were order members, so we knew that we would sooner die than rat Harry out. That night was horrible but no one cried or flinched. Alicia stood in George's arms, Fred took my hand, Bill and Fleur whispered to eachother, Ginny and Angelina stood strong and proud, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood infront of us all as unforgivable curse after unforgiveable curse was thrown at us individually. When the Death Eaters finally left, we all collapsed on the cold, tile floor, holding eachother, telling eachother that it was going to be okay. We were gone within the hour, leaving behind our childhood home behind.

"Katie, dear? Are you okay?" I looked up from my seat on the floor, into Mrs. Weasley's warm, happy face. Her face had aged considerably since the last time I had seen her. We were all on the run, and her children (biologically and not) were in the middle of the battle.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just thinking." I replied to her. She hesitated, about to say something, but then decided against it and just nodded. Mrs. Weasley gave me a small smile with a nod and walked away. I smiled after her, remembering how I used to run away from home for weeks when I was mad or sad and go to the Burrow by floo. I had family at the Burrow. The Weasleys were my family. My parents knew the Weasleys from their time at Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley and my mum were inseparable as they were both Gryffindors. I grew up at the Burrow. Learning to walk and talk on the linoleum floors of the kitchen along with the twins, teaching Ginny how to be a chaser in the field behind the house, sitting on the roof of the Burrow with Fred and George, long after we were supposed to be in bed, talking about their dream shop and Hogwarts. It seemed like a dream, so happy and safe.

"BOOM!" A large sound shook the walls of the castle, resulting in everyone jumping to their feet and drawing their wands, wildly looking for the intruder. Fred was immediately at my side, his wand in his left hand, my hand in his right.

"It's time," He breathed.


	2. Agony

Adrenaline rushed through her veins and the need to survive seemed to push her forward, constantly whispering to her, sounding like it was repeating one mantra '_For him. For him. For him.'_ She was running faster than she had ever run before, dodging streaks of light. She knew that if she missed one step in this strange dance it would result in her death.

Hogwarts, her old home, filled with so many memories, had been ruined in less than 2 hours. Katie tried not to look around too much because she knew the misery would overtake her. The strong, seemingly-unbreakable stone walls had crumbled to the ground and human bodies (whether death eater or student) lay all over, limp almost like they were dolls that had been thrown by an angry child. She couldn't hear the screams, although she knew that they were there: terrible, cringe worthy, nails-on-a-chalkboard. Those screams were the screams of adults and small children dying in a way that no one should have to feel. But right now, the girl could only hear blood pounding in her ears; Katie was focusing on one thing. Him.

Her long legs pushed forwards, climbing the steps to the entrance way, dodging curses from every direction. She had just been outside, and that was truly a mess. Giant spiders and giants and even a hippogriff had joined in on the fight. McGonagall had positioned Katie outside to help with the protective enchantments before the battle started but the enchantments were no more. Nothing was going to protect Hogwarts now. Finally making it to the Great hall, Katie realized that the battle had been bigger than she thought: there were people dueling everywhere. She also realized that there was an awful lot of ginger in one spot at the side of the large room. Sprinting over in that general direction Katie saw Oliver Wood. He was dueling with a large death eater. Even though Oliver was a full grown bloke, compared to the death eater he seemed like a small child. While Katie watched, she saw the death eater disarm Oliver and prepare to kill him. Fearing for his life, Katie cast a quick stunning spell at the death eater. To her surprise it hit the death eater, making him crumple to the ground like a marionette. Oliver whipped his head around, his dark brown eyes searching for his savior. Finally spotting Katie, he swerved to her side, greeting her with a nod.

"Thanks Kates." He thanked her bluntly, looking tired.

"No problem. Have you seen Fred?" She questioned him, ducking out of the way of a gold jet of light. While she waited for an answer she realized that Oliver was wearing a ring on his right hand.

"No I haven't Katie. But he must be around here somewhere. You haven't seen Ange around, have you? I promised I would stay with her but we got separated when the battle started."

"Oliv-" Katie was cutoff as a red jet of light hit her foot. The world seemed to slow down as searing hot pain shot through her foot and up her leg. Shrieking with agony, Katie fell to the ground at Oliver's feet. Oliver turned to the death eater that had attacked her, raised his wand and cast a strange curse that Katie had never seen before. The death eater burst into flames and in a matter of seconds, had turned into a pile of ash. Turning his attention back to the shrieking blonde, he picked her up bridal-style and dashed from the room. Oliver never looked back as he ran to the first place that came to his mind. Blasting the portrait of the Fat Lady aside, he sprinted into the Gryffindor Common Room and lay her down on a couch in the middle of the room.

Katie's eyelids started to droop and her foot went numb. Oliver was talking to her, trying to tell her something but all she could make out was "….No…..Can't….Please….Come on… Kates...What… Fred!" and then everything went black.


	3. Pigeon Girl

**Hello chickens! New chapter is up and ready! Hope you guys like it! And remember to review because i'm insecure and awkward! ;) **

**Disclaimer: If i owned Harry Potter, Fred would be my legal husband. **

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><p>Fred's POV (Kind of?):<p>

"Is that a bird?" Fred heard his twin brother bellow over the sounds of the war. Following his pointed finger, Fred saw a limping, grey bird, helpless under the weight of a broken piece of glass from a classroom window. Sprinting over to it, Fred picked it up carefully, brushing off the glass. "It's a pigeon." He murmured to himself. The bird immediately squeaked and wiggled free from Fred's grip, flying out into the night. Watching the bird fly away, the ginger man remembered one of the best nights of his life: the night he met Miss Katie Bell.

_It was a cold, bright day on October 31__st__. Since it was Halloween, the students of Hogwarts were dressed in costumes instead of uniform as a treat from Dumbledore. The school was alive with excited faces and brilliant colors, but three first year boys looked strangely more excited than the other students. Fred and George Weasley, at their not-so-delicate age of 11, crouched in a corner of the clock tower with their best friend and co-mastermind Lee Jordan who was dressed in normal clothes. They were planning the best prank in history. _

'_Guys, this is going to be the best prank in history' George informed his friends._

'_We're going to be legends' Fred quipped, grinning at George. _

'_Kings!' George chirped back, a mischievous glint in his eyes. _

'_WORSHIPPED!' Both boys screamed at eachother, before bursting into laughter. Lee just shook his head._

'_You know, mates. I've only known you for a month, and I already think you're both nutters. Geniuses, but nutters.' He finished, looking at both boys with a small smile._

'_Lee. Mate. You'll have to get used to it-' Fred got up and dashed away, towards the entrance hall on the other side of the castle. _

'_-if you want to hang out with us!' George finished, standing up and sprinting to his station, near Hagrid's hut, outside. _

_Lee sighed, and stood up, bending over the railing to look at the crowd below him. He slowly counted to two hundred. All at once, at different sides of the castle, the 3 boys said a quick charm and all the people in Hogwarts started to transform. Some were turning into ghosts, some were turning into bats, and even one person turned into a house elf. Fred and George had switched their clothes previously, turning into eachother, purely for their amusement due to the fact that no one would notice. Giggling to themselves, the three boys met in the great hall, to head back to the Gryffindor Common Room together after a job well done. _

'_Brilliant!' Fred praised them, giving them both high fives. Around them was total chaos, students ran around, masked as fairies and goblins and owls, mixed in with various other panicking animals and people. Teachers were screaming at students to 'Calm down and stay quiet!' 'The charm has to wear off eventually!' _

_Finally making it back to the common room, the boys whispered 'Whipping Humdingers!' and stepped through the portrait hole into a strange scene. _

'_ALICIA. CALM THE BLOODY HECK DOWN.' _

'_STAY AWAY FROM ME. STAY AWAY!'_

'_NO. KAT! LOOK OUT!' _

_George, Fred and Lee had found themselves staring at two first year girls running frantically around the room, both screaming at eachother. One girl, with short, light brown hair was trying to get away from the other girl, who had dark hair and skin to match. The dark haired girl kept trying to restrain the other girl, to no avail. The boys didn't know their names, but they knew that they both were excellent in flying classes and came from wizarding families. _

'_OI. YOU THREE! HELP ME, WILL YA?' The dark skinned girl hollered, finally noticing the boys. Immediately, George raced forwards and picked up the small, pale, flailing girl, restraining her from hurting the other girl. Fred and Lee exchanged a look and walked forwards, to see what had happened. _

'_Thanks. I'm Angelina, by the way. And that's Alicia.' She gestured to the girl that George was still holding. Awkwardly, George put the girl down and gave her a small smile. Alicia just grimaced up at the boy._

'_I'm Fred, this is Lee and this bimbo is George.' Fred told Angelina. Lee, seeming to stare a little bit too long at Angelina, decided to speak._

'_Were you just yelling at a cat?' Lee asked, dumbly. _

'_Oh no. We were yelling at Katie.' Angelina shook her head, turning to look wearily at Alicia. Alicia seemed to jump a little bit, as if remembering something and she looked up and started staring at the ceiling of the common room. _

'_Who's Katie?' Fred asked, curious. _

'_Katie Bell. Our friend' Alicia spoke up for the first time to the boys. Her voice was delicate and high pitched, like a fairy. Shaking his head to get that thought out of his head, Fred realized that there was no one in the room other than the group of 5. _

'_Oh. She's a pigeon right now.' Angelina noticed the boys' blank stares. _

'_A … pigeon...' George slowly said, confused._

'_Ohhh. Because of our prank, numpty.' Fred turned and grinned at the two boys, finally understanding._

'_You did this?' Alicia asked in a small voice, regarding the boys with wide-eyes and then turning her attention back to the ceiling again. _

'_Yup! Isn't it brilliant?' Lee quipped_

'_Sure, but Alicia has a strange fear of pigeons.' Angelina supplied, still staring at Alicia, who was staring at the ceiling. 'It's quite ridiculous, actually.'_

'_Well, we can change her back, if you want. We know the counter curse.' George offered with hopeful eyes, gazing at Alicia. _

'_Oh, would you? That would be lovely.' Alicia turned to look at George, with a faint smile. _

'_No problem, fair lady. Now where is this terrible beast?' George put on a posh accent and grinned at Alicia, sending her a wink. _

'_She's in the corner, over there.' Angelina pointed to above the fireplace, where sure enough, there was a small grey bird, quivering with fear. George flicked his wand at the bird and with a chirp, it poofed into a tall, shocked, blonde girl. _

'_And you must be Miss Bell! Pleasure, it really is.' Fred raced forward to grab her hand and kiss it, only to be pushed out of the way by George._

'_I must say, m'dear. You looked ravishing as a pigeon!' George kissed her other hand. Both boys looked for a reaction from the pigeon-girl. The girl's face turned from shocked, to confused, to rage as she stared up at the twin boys. SMACK, hands connected with twin cheeks as the tall girl turned red from being so mad. _

'_She… she smacked us!' Both boys bellowed, clutching their cheeks, turning away from their attacker to look at the rest of the group. Angelina just shook her head slightly as if to say 'don't make her mad' and Alicia looked even more scared. Lee was gazing dreamily at Angelina, obviously not going to be any help. _

'_SHE HAS A BLOODY NAME!' The girl screeched, making the boys whip around to face her. _

'_Kat, don't be too hard on them.' Alicia squeaked from behind Lee. 'It was just a prank…' She trailed off after seeing her friend's intense glare._

'_It wasn't a prank; it was a death wish.' Katie said dangerously, turning her glare to the twins, trying to decide who to attack first. _

'_It was just a joke!' Fred choked out. 'We didn't mean any harm!' _

'_ANY HARM? Do you know how many times I got hit by Alicia BEFORE Ange managed to stop her? My head is pounding and I think my foot might be broken! And on top of that, I didn't even want to dress up as a bloody bird. I was just doing it as a joke! So don't try to tell me about jokes.' Katie finished, stomping her foot and wincing at the pain. _

'_Alright. I'll take you to the hospital wing. Get you fixed up, yeah?' Fred answered calmly, looking into her stormy grey eyes. _

'_..Yeah. Okay.' Katie stared back, hypnotized. She knew that she should be mad, furious even! But for some reason, those eyes and freckles just made her want to throw herself into his arms. The pair said goodbye to the group and walked out of the portrait hole, Katie limping and Fred with a protective arm wrapped around her. _

'_By the way, I'm Fred. Fred Weasley.' _

Despite all of the fighting going on, Fred stopped and wished to whoever is out there, that his pigeon-girl would be okay.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Did you not like it? Tell me why! <strong>

**xoxo- katie!**


	4. BeBe

'Freddie?' Katie Bell whispered through parted lips. For some reason unknown to her, Katie's stormy-grey eyes refused to open and her leg throbbed with pain. Hands twitching, she realized she was lying down on something soft, like a couch or a bed. Focusing on figuring out where she was, she listened closely for anything to help her out. Faintly, in the distance, she could hear screaming, too far away to do any harm to her. Although she was sure she was safe, something was nagging at her in the back of her brain. She just couldn't remember….

"Oliver! I saw your Patronus! Are you hurt?" A voice shrieked, obviously worried. Katie winced at the sudden protruding sound, disrupting her quiet and decided that it was definitely a female voice.

"Is that… Kat! What happened? Oliver! Is she okay?" Words spilled out of the girl's mouth, almost too fast for Katie to decipher. She felt her right hand being picked up and held in a tight grip. The hand was small and cold, but still gripping onto her fiercely, willing her not to let go. The other cold hand was on Katie's neck, checking her pulse.

"Alicia, she's fine. She has a heartbeat, but faintly. Kate passed out when she got hit by a curse. Should I get Fred?" Katie could hear heavy footsteps and guessed that Oliver moved beside Alicia, to stand over herself.

"Don't bother. He would have a heart attack. If you go out there, you might not be able to get back in time anyways. I'll fix her up. Give me a minute, yeah?" As Alicia finished reassuring the Scottish man, Katie could feel a warm tingling sensation run up her leg, immediately relieving the pain. Sighing, she forced her eyes open to stare at her friends.

"Mornin', sleeping beauty." Alicia mumbled to Katie, her eyebrows crunched together, concentrating on her wand raised over Katie's foot. As she watched, a splint seemed to appear out of thin air and wrap itself securely on top of Katie's dirty jeans, circling around her ankle. When it was finished, Oliver offered a hand to help Katie up, which she gratefully accepted.

"How long have I been out?" Katie asked, while searching around for her wand. She ripped pillows off of the couch she had been lying on, and moved on to looking around on the floor nearby.

"Not too long. Maybe an hour? Either way, nothing much has happened." Alicia replied while handing Katie her wand that she found by her own foot. "No one has seen Harry, Ron or Hermione since they ran off to wherever they go off to."

"And Fred?" Katie asked, staring Alicia full in the face. She looked tired and had dirt caked into her dark hair. One single thin cut reached across her cheek and down to her chin, slightly bleeding. Katie knew she wouldn't have a problem getting rid of it: before the war Alicia was training to be a Healer. Her clothes had holes and what Katie thought were burn marks in them.

"I last saw him near the Quidditch pitch, but don't you dare go find him. We need to stick together." Oliver said firmly, while turning towards the door. "We best get back to the fight, or else all the good death eaters will be gone."

Following Oliver, the two girls made their way outside, ducking and weaving around spells and wizards.

"You're going to find Fred, aren't you?" Alicia whispered to Katie, quiet enough so Oliver wouldn't hear.

"Hell yes." Katie deadpanned, trying not to trip on her splint, still ducking and weaving around screaming people.

"Wherever Fred is, George will be too. I'm coming." Alicia said.

Finally, the girls made it to the quidditch pitch, to find it completely on fire. Alicia was immediately forced into a duel with a rogue death eater. But Katie felt a single tear slip down her cheek. She had spent so much time on that pitch; so much of her childhood was gone in an explosion of flames. Those very flames licked their way up the house banners, making their lively colors turn a dull shade of black. Mesmerized by the bittersweet dance of the fire, Katie didn't notice someone grab her from behind. Screaming, she thrust her elbow behind her, into her attacker's stomach, whipping around to cast a curse to kill him, coming face to face with… her boyfriend.

"Fred!" She screeched, throwing herself into his arms.

"Dammit, Katie. Remind me to never sneak up on you again" Fred grumbled, rubbing his stomach and gasping for breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She apologized, searching his brown eyes for a hint of pain, but all she could find was pride. "Did I really hurt you?"

"I've missed you" He whispered, holding onto her chin and pulling it towards him. Just as their lips touched, Katie saw fireworks. _It's been way too long, _she mentally sighed.

"FRED, KAT, WATCH OUT!" Someone bellowed from behind them. Whipping around and drawing their wands, the couple faced Bill Weasley and a large death eater dueling. Pulling Katie behind him, Fred stepped forward to help his older brother, leaving Katie alone.

"Typical" She huffed.

"WELL, IF IT ISN'T THE LITTLE FAIRY-PRINCESS!" Katie heard someone screech behind her. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY?"

Craning her neck, Katie could just make out Alicia and Bellatrix Lestrange dueling on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. Both women looked ready to kill, but Katie could tell that Bellatrix had the upper hand. Dashing away from Fred and Bill, Katie sprinted towards Alicia.

"Need some help?" Katie asked her best friend as she turned and sent a curse towards the Death Eater.

"Thanks" Alicia hissed, wiping the sweat off of her forehead using her sleeve.

"Expelliarmus!" Katie screamed, throwing the curse at a dancing Bellatrix.

"Ooooh! Has the ickle Bell-arina come to join us at our tea party? Draco has told me many stories about you, Katie Bell." Bellatrix sang, cackling and skipping around the girl's curses. "I think he fancies you! Why don't you ditch that blood-traitor Weasley and love my nephew? You would make lovely pureblood children…."

"CONFRINGO!" George Weasley bellowed at Bellatrix's back. Making her clothes erupt into flame. "That was for my brother!"

Screeching and thrashing around, Bellatrix apparated away, most likely to find some water to put out her robes. Katie gasped for air and sat down on the grass.

"George!" Alicia whimpered, throwing herself into his arms.

"Missed you, sweetheart," He mumbled into her hair, while stroking her back. "You all right, Kates? You look kind of green."

"I'm fine, George. Just… tired."

Before she had a chance to explain further, a cold, screeching voice ripped through her head. Everyone stopped fighting and Fred rushed to her side, gripping her hand.

"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. I speak now, Harry Potter, Directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

At the end of Voldemort's speech, the death eaters all disapparated, leaving the remaining Hogwarts students and Aurors standing alone.

"We should get back to the Great Hall," George said, taking hold of Alicia's hand and turning towards Hogwarts.

"Love, are you okay? You don't look so good" Fred whispered once George and Alicia had left, pushing Katie's bangs away from her eyes.

With a sigh, Katie turned away from him and spoke: "We should get back, Fred. See your family."

The couple set off, weaving around bodies and burnt trees. They walked in somber silence, mentally thanking the heavens that they have eachother.

Once they reached the door to the Great Hall, Fred scanned the room for red hair. Finally seeing George, Bill, Fleur, and Katie's parents, he let Katie run towards her parents and hug them, bursting into tears.

"How are you, mate?" Bill clapped a hand onto Fred's back, pulling him into a hug.

"'Bout as good as anyone around here. What's with the face, Fleur?" Fred inquired at his sister-in-law, whom was staring at Fred as if she expected him to explode at any moment.

"Oh, eet iz est ton cherie?" Fleur asked, looking around.

"Bonjour, Fleur. Comment ca va?" Katie joined the group, speaking in fluent French, something that she had picked up while visiting her uncle in Paris last summer.

"Bien, et ton bebe?" Fleur asked, eyeing Katie closely.

"FLEUR!" Katie shrieked, looking around wildly at the faces of the bewildered men standing around her. "Comment saviez-vous?"

When Fleur didn't answer, Katie turned back to Fred. "We can't find Stephen." 


End file.
